I loved baseball movies as a kid. From 1989-94, there was a flood of them in my impressionable years that left many lasting memories. Some of them I still love and re-watch to this day like the Major League trilogy, Field of Dreams, The Scout and The Sandlot. While others probably hit at the right age for me and I refuse repeated viewings of them because I just know in my gut they will not appeal to me the same way they did back then with prime examples being Little Big League, Angels in the Outfield and Rookie of the Year.
In more recent years however I strayed away from baseball flicks, or not many have stuck out to me. This last year saw two films with Moneyball and the film that is the focus of this blog, Trouble With the Curve (Trailer) make an awesome return to baseball movie greatness. For the first time in 20 years, Clint Eastwood got out of the director's chair and back to just being an actor. The director here actually is a longtime assistant director of Clint's who is making his directorial debut, Robert Lorenz.
Eastwood is sublime at playing old, cranky and stubborn, and that is exactly the persona behind Gus as he keeps brushing aside his Glaucoma issues and ignoring his daughter trying to get the truth out of him on why they grew so apart over the years. Watching Eastwood and Adams overcome the hurdles of their character's relationship was a battle I enjoyed. Their conflict keeps building and building, with Adams especially doing an awesome part in showing how Gus's stubbornness rubbed onto her as she holds her own whenever Mickie and Gus go at it. Justin Timberlake is spot on in his supporting role, full of determination of rising through the scouting ranks and landing an announcing gig, but the inevitable feelings he has for Mickie throws a wrench in his scouting plans.
The only part of the film I thought that could have been done better was there really was no resolution to Gus's glaucoma, as it more or less takes a backseat in the film's final act where the film turns into whether or not their team makes a move on the hot prospect at the upcoming draft. I like how they handle the draft and the fallout from it, but the film gets you feeling for Gus and his failing vision and to see how that issue gets brushed to the side in the final half hour is kind of disappointing. Luckily all of the other issues explored in the movie are dealt with properly and have a gratifying sense of finality.
I really enjoyed Trouble With the Curve for the same reasons I enjoyed Moneyball. While baseball may appear to be the focus of both films, it is not of the actual game itself but more of the behind the scenes office/scouting shenanigans that are used to enhance and develop the characters and had you rooting for them until the end to see if they overcame their conflicts and find that lasting resolve. Moneyball has awesome, strong characters, but obviously with its connections to the book that changed the sport forever it keeps more of a focus on the game. While I will give the nudge to enjoying that movie as a whole more, I cannot deny that Trouble With the Curve does a better job at developing their characters and having me stick with them and care about the individuals more.
Trouble With the Curve is not part of the Clint Eastwood collection of movies I am covering. It is the only Eastwood movie I own that is not part of the 10-film collection I am working on reviewing, but I am going to a Twins game this weekend, the last game of the season as a matter of fact and really wanted to get in the mood for baseball, so here is a free bonus Clint Eastwood film review for you this month! If you want to follow along on the Clint Eastwood collection fun with me, here is a link to the box set I have off Amazon.
Past Eastwood Collection Blogs
Mystic River
The Rookie
Absolute Power
Dirty Harry
Kelly's Heroes
Where Eagles Dare
Gran Torino
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